If you counted up how many times we’ve been to each national park in the US, I’m sure you’d find the one we’ve visited the most to be Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. In the last 16 years,…
Beautiful Bryce Hike: Peek-a-Boo Trail & Navajo Trail
I’ve hiked in Bryce Canyon several times, but on our last visit, it had been several years since we’d visited. I’m not sure if it was because we thought we’d done everything Bryce has to offer (far from it—there are…
Crazy Moqui Marbles!
Have you ever seen a moqui marble? Most people have never even heard of these phenomena, let alone seen them. Yet they are a fascinating piece of geology, and they are just cool to look at. Even if you’re not…
Big Bend Slot Canyon: The Den
The Den trail is an adventure without being impossible for the average hiker. It is also a way to experience the Chihuahuan Desert, and to get an idea of the real personality of the desert part of Big Bend National…
Colorado in South Dakota: Spearfish Canyon
Spearfish is located in far western South Dakota. However, few of the people who go to Spearfish travel south to drive through Spearfish Canyon, a truly beautiful spot that really doesn’t resemble most people’s vision of this state. It reminds…
Prettiest Hike in Organ Pipe: Bull Pasture
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument may be known as much for being directly on the Mexican boarder as for the cactus that gives it its name. From almost anywhere in the park, you can look south and see into a…
100-Palm Tree Oasis – The Palm Bowl
In a previous post, I told about the Borrego Palm Canyon Nature Trail in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. However, you really haven’t seen a large oasis in the middle of the desert in this park unless you’ve climbed above…
Hoodoos in a Desert Meadow: Chesler Park
Chesler Park is one of my favorite places in Canyonlands National Park. It’s so pretty and awe-inspiring with red and white sandstone towers and hoodoos rimming a desert meadow filled with desert grass and low scrub. Chesler Park is the…
Other Earthly “Caves” in Cathedral Gorge
Imagine a vista that looks like a cross between Bryce Canyon, The Slots (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park), drip-castles we made out of watery sand at the beach, and something totally other-earthly. Something you’ve seen in a movie about another planet. …
Prettiest Scenic Drive I’ve Found in Utah: The Potash Road
One evening in May, we decided to drive to the end of Rt 270 from Moab, Utah, to find a place to camp. After the Potash plant, the road becomes dirt, but it’s a fairly good road as dirt roads…